Left 4 Dead: Left Behind
by Champ11
Summary: Tough choices have to be made. I made one. One had to stay behind. One had to die, so that the others may live. I chose to be the one. I wouldn’t ask any of my men to do it. I was the one who fought as they made their escape. I was the one, left for dead.
1. Left Behind and Left for Dead

**Author's Note:** Well, I was trying to work on Star Fox: the Tiberium Wars when I got a writer's block. Then Left for dead 2 came out, and I got addicted to that. So I then got blindsided by my muse. Trust me, me and my muse don't get along. When I want to write about one thing, it wants to write about something else. I liked the idea so I decided why not, and went along for the ride. Here is the culmination of playing L4D2 for about three days, and reading some L4D fanfics. For those who want to know. This takes place just after L4D2 ends, and this is a more realistic version. When the military extracts someone, they will have boots on the ground. This is the story of one such boot.

DISCLAMER: I don't own Left 4 Dead. I own a copy of L4D2, and that's all. I do, however own all human (not zombie) characters, since they all are OCs anyway.

Tough choices have to be made. I made one. One had to stay behind. One had to die, so that the others may live. I chose to be the one. I wouldn't ask any of my men to do it. I was the one who fought as they made their escape. I was the one, left for dead.

Chapter One: Left Behind and Left for Dead

My rifle's bolt snapped back with a crack, and locked open. Empty. I snapped the rifle forward and cracked one of the zombies in the head with its butt stock. The zombie dropped to the ground. Before it could try and get back to its feet, I kicked it in the face and stamped down on it with my combat boot. I felt a sick satisfaction in the sound of cracking bones. I quickly reloaded the rifle as I surveyed the scene. Zombies were lying down in various places and in various states of dismemberment. All of them were dead, or at least were reintroduced to death. I sighed as I looked for another magazine for my SCAR-H rifle. When I couldn't find one I slung my rifle and pulled out my service M9 pistol and the forty five ACP pistol that my father gave me. I checked the load and saw that I had more than enough ammo for both pistols.

"Man, I did not sign up for this," I muttered as I started looking for a way off of this jury-rigged LZ that my platoon had hastily set up. I threw one last glance at the bridge that the fly-boys just destroyed about half an hour ago and then moved over to one of the Humvees. I opened the door and quickly looked through it. I found several 5.56 NATO magazines. I grabbed them but I couldn't find any 7.62mm magazines. So I went to another Humvee, but again my search turned up fruitless. I sighed as I swept the area again. Not one zombie had moved, and no new ones showed up. 'Something about this doesn't feel right,' I thought. I looked around and found the radio on one of the Humvees. I moved over to it and tried to radio in. No such luck. I let the radio fall and tried to remember the maps of the surrounding area. A lot of the towns had already been hit for survivors. The closest town from here that hadn't was about three states away.

"I got a lot of walking ahead of me," I said. I sighed. I looked at my watch and saw that it was about 1500H local. 'Time to get moving. I need to find a safe house before nightfall. I got everything I could find here, so time to move,' I thought as I aimed the two pistols in front of me. I ran towards the remains of the bridge. I turned to the right and saw the road that had been blocked off by several assorted cars, trucks, and other obstacles had been cleared by the bombing run. I moved down the now opened street cautiously. My eyes never stayed in one place. They swept the area constantly, just like I was trained. I didn't see one zombie. Now I was getting spooked. Something was very wrong. I was too smart, too well trained, and too experienced to ignore what my instincts were telling me. I walked along the highway until I found a ramp and went down it. When I reached the bottom, I heard a snarl come from my right. My weapons snapped up, and I was facing the direction that it came from in an instant. 'Great, a hunter,' I thought, as I saw it sitting on top of a truck. Through the truck's passenger and driver windows, I saw several of the common infect zombies.

"Time to earn some hazard pay," I muttered as they hunter leapt at me. I fired on the hunter with both pistols, and landing several good hits on it, but it wasn't enough to kill it. I ducked at the last minute and let it sail over and behind me before I lashed out with a boot. The kick connected with its chin as it spun around to face me. The hit knocked it off balance, but it recovered quickly. I was faster however. I hit it with a roundhouse kick to the face, followed by pistol whipping it in the face. The hunter dropped to the ground, and I quickly put four more rounds, at point-blank range, into its head. I then turned my sights onto the now advancing hoard of zombies running towards me. A savage grin graced my features as I put round after round down range. The zombies dropped left and right as the rounds tore through their bodies. The pistols' slides locked back after the last round was shot and went through the head of a zombie. It dropped to the ground dead. I reloaded the rounds without any thought and the weapons were loaded in just a couple of seconds. I looked around and saw no more zombies. I felt fear rise up in me. It felt like a stone was dropped into my stomach. I took a second and accepted the fear. I understood why it was there. I then banished it from my mind. Fear would only cloud my judgment and hamper me in the long run. I then looked around again and saw a building that looked promising for a way to continue, as every street and such was blocked off by concrete barriers and fences. I ran towards the house. Inside were several zombies that I dispatched with ease. I then reloaded the pistols and continued to look through the house.

I as I moved into another room, I heard a gurgling noise. 'Boomer,' I thought as I scanned the area from my position. I peeked into the next room. Bingo, one Boomer and several common infected. I aimed my pistols at the Boomer, while using the corner as cover. I open fired. The Boomer went with the first couple of shots, taking out several of the common infected. I shifted my aim to the closest of the zombies and killed all of them before they could close to melee range. The noise attracted some unwanted attention as a Smoker's tongue wrapped around me. My right arm was free however. As the smoker started dragging me towards itself, my right hand flew to my belt. I tore out my combat knife and stabbed the tongue repeatedly. I was then slammed into a wall. The tongue was trying to pull me out the window, but it didn't have the strength to. I switched from stabbing the tongue to trying to cut through it as it started to cut off my airway. Eventually I cut through the tongue and almost stabbed myself. I quickly tried to locate the Smoker as I recovered my breath, but couldn't see it.

I sheathed my knife and looked around for my forty five that I had dropped to get at my knife. I saw it laying about twenty feet from my position. I pushed myself into a crouched stance and looked out the window again. This time I spotted the Smoker. I changed hands on the M9 and braced it against the window sill so that I had a good steady shot. I aimed down the sights of the pistol and shot. The Smoker died in a puff of its own smoke. I stood back up and moved to pick up my forty five back up. I reloaded both pistols before I moved on. The house had one whole wall missing from it, probably from a Tank, and so did the house directly next to it. I proceeded from house to house killing what common infected there were. After I cleared that row of houses, I noticed that I was in the kitchen of the house I was in. I checked the cupboards and was surprised that I found some chow in one of them. There were about three bags of chips and two bottles of water. I quickly chugged one bottle of water and eat one of the bags of chips there. I stored the rest of the food and water in one of the twelve pockets on my ACU.

"Alright, that should get me until I reach a safe house. Now, where is it?" I asked myself as I scanned the area. I went to the houses front door and opened it. Outside was a zombie that wasn't facing me. I holstered the pistol that was in my right hand, since the other was already holstered from opening the door. I quickly stepped up behind the infected and snapped its neck. It dropped noiselessly. I pulled out my two pistols and opened up on the rest of the hoard. An infected that had body armor rushed me. To conserve ammo, I focused on shooting the rest of the infected and let the armored one close. Once it was in range, I lashed out with a pistol and nailed it in the helmet. I then followed that up with a roundhouse to the head. The zombie flew to the ground. It tried to pick itself back up, but I snap-kicked it in the faceplate. It went down to the ground. I finished with the rest of the hoard after reloading my pistols twice. I looked down at the armored zombie, but saw that it wasn't in the location I had dropped it. I felt a clawed hand nail me in the back. I threw myself forward before the armored zombie could get a second strike. I spun around and holstered both my pistols. It came at me with the typical zombie way. I dodged its first swipe and counterattacked. I smashed my knee into its gut and forced it to double over. It was quick to recover but I then smashed my right elbow onto its spine. It dropped to the ground as the muscles locked up. I then slammed my heel onto the back of its neck. The neck snapped and the zombie was still. I then ripped off its helmet and put a nine millimeter round into its head. 'Now it'll stay dead,' I thought as I moved down the street and saw a safe house symbol painted on a house further down.

As I cautiously made my way towards the house with the safe house symbol on it, I heard a loud roar come from behind me. I looked behind me, praying it wasn't what I thought it was. Of course, with my luck I was right. A Tank appeared and started running towards me. With just two pistols, I knew I wasn't going to be able to take it on by myself. I holstered both of the pistols and started running for the safe house. The Tank was faster than me and was gaining, but I still had a sizeable lead on it. I was about fifty yards from the house when I looked behind me to check its progress. The Tank was about twenty yards behind and gaining. I pushed myself to run faster; there was no way I was going to die now; running with my tail between my legs. I made it the last few yards when the Tank ran into the building. The whole building shuddered with the impact, but the walls held. I noticed that there were several zombies in the house, but I just ignored them and continued to run up the stairs. I pulled out my M9 and shifted it over to my right hand. I shot three zombies that were standing in my way in the head. I didn't even stumble over their bodies as I flew up the stairs.

I turned to my left and shot a Boomer that had been standing there, which in turn killed three other zombies. I then ducked as a Hunter leapt at me and I ran down the hallway; the entire time the Tank was still banging away at the house. I saw the safe room just a few yards down the hall, when I was knocked to the ground, with the Hunter on me, and my M9 flew out of my grasp. I was able to roll onto my back with the Hunter straddling me. Before it could do anything, I lashed out with a left cross to the head, and followed that up with a right cross to the temple. I kept bashing it until I was able to reach down and grab my combat knife. I quickly yanked it out of its sheath and stabbed the Hunter in the head with it. I then shoved it off of me, and I was just able to stand back up as the rest of the hoard closed into melee range. I lashed out with the knife and scored a hit to the jugular of a zombie. I followed that up with an elbow to the face of the one behind it. I then lash out with a kick and try to push myself away from the hoard, to get some distance. I switch the knife from my right to my left hand and pull out my forty five. I start firing away with the pistol and I stab anything that gets too close to me with my knife as I slowly back away to get into the safe room. When I pass by my M9, I quickly sheath my knife and grab it while I reload my forty five that have just spent its last round. I then unload with both pistols and start to rapidly back up. I eventually make it inside and slam the door shut, just as the last pistol round in both my guns fire at targets in melee distance.

I looked behind me and saw an auto shotgun. I quickly grabbed it and started to spray down the hallway. After four full magazines of ammo, the hoard finally was eliminated. Everything was oddly quiet. I then noticed that the Tank had stopped banging on the house. 'Must have given up,' I though as I set the shotgun down and lean against the wall midway between my entrance to this safe haven and the exit into the closest place man can get to hell before he dies. I shut my eyes to quickly catch my breath before I lost all conscious thought and fall asleep.

**Author's Note 2:** Well, not bad for something written in about four hours, with minimal assistance from any source. This story is going to be a long one. This story has as much plot as L4D does, which really isn't much other than survival, so we'll see where my muse takes us. Should be fun. I'll let you all know if I ever decide to actually put in another plot as it happens. I'll update this when I get an urge to write about it, so don't expect periodic updates. Anyway, I'll see you next update.

Any CONSRUCTIVE criticism and/or reviews are highly appreciated.


	2. SSDD

**Author's Note:** If you are wondering who "I" am, that will be reveled later. Everything about who "I" am will be revealed as the story progresses. Also, here is some good news for those looking forward to me next chapter for SFTW (Star Fox: Tiberium Wars), my comp decided to hate me and deleted it. I have to completely rewrite it… Again! For the THIRD TIME!! I hate my laptop… Also, bonus/brownie points to who can tell me what the chapter title means. David, (the person I'm talking to knows who he is) I already told you so don't ruin it for anyone who decides to take a shot. If you want some music to go with these chapters, I find that Hans Zimmer's "No Man Left Behind" fits quite well. Yes I know, the titles are complete opposites, but hey the music works.

**Response to Reviews:**

SGarrison: Thanks, glad you like it.

RoseintheShadows7: Hooah! Glad you liked it.

Chapter Two: S.S.D.D

Slowly my dreams of happier times with my family, friends, and brothers-in-arms end and the fog of unconsciousness disappears. Suddenly the situation at hand jumps to the fore of my mind and I force myself fully awake with a flood of adrenaline. I stand up and lights flash before my eyes because I stood up to fast.

I shake it off quickly and look around. I see an M16 and a Mac 10 lying next to a pile of ammo. I was surprised to see that the place hadn't been cleaned out already. I slung the combat shotgun I had in my hands and grabbed the M16. I then search the pile of ammo for as many 5.56 NATO and 7.62 mm magazines for the assault rifles and twelve gauge rounds for the shotgun, as well as nine millimeter and forty five ACP magazines for the pistols. After I went through the ammo, I had thirty clips for the M16, about twenty five sets of eight rounds for the shotgun, and even more pistol ammo. Again, there was no ammo for the SCAR. I then unslung the SCAR and set it next to the pile of ammo. I then slung the M16, so that I had a weapon on each shoulder, and grabbed the Mac 10. I checked the load and saw it had a full clip. I then stocked up and magazines for the Mac 10. I was fully loaded with ammunition. 'Enough ammo to face WWIII,' I mentally joked as I moved over at my exit. I looked back at the ammo pile and saw five clips for the Mac 10 that I was not able to find a place for. I looked back out and saw several common infected in my way. There was a ramp that led down to the street from the second floor of the building I'm in. Along the street was the now normal, disarray of cars and obstacles. I took the Mac 10 and aimed through the grates in the door. I fired short controlled bursts at every infected I could see. I dropped all of them, but then a Spitter came out of nowhere and spat at me. I ducked and the stuff it spat at me hit the door and didn't come in the safe room, but that was too close for comfort. I stood back up and unloaded the rest of the magazine at it and killed it. I dropped the empty mag and grabbed one of the five remaining ones from the table. I loaded the weapons and looked out the door for a new target.

I didn't see anything so I decided to check for medical equipment. I found four medpacks. I grabbed all four and attached one to each leg, attached one to my back like a backpack, and attached one to my belt. I found an axe, a crowbar, three bottles of pain killer, two adrenaline shots, and a set of defib paddles. I put the pain killers in one of the medpacks, the adrenaline shots in another, and the defib paddles in a third. 'I wish a rucksack right about now,' I thought as I found some pipe bombs. I grabbed them and stuffed them into whatever pockets that they could have been fitted in. I then moved back to the door. I peeked back out to see if any new targets.

I didn't see anything so I opened the door and looked around. Again I didn't see anything. I moved forward into the street; again, nothing. I shut the door and move down the ramp while I scanned the surrounding area. Again, something was off. I continued down the ramp and eventually made the street. I looked both ways and started walking down the street; heading North. I scanned every nook and cranny I could see. I kept the Mac 10 at the ready as I was force to climb over a car to continue. As I walked through the maze of cars I heard the sound of someone crying. A girl if I was right about what the crying sounded like. My instincts were crying out that something was wrong, but I couldn't figure out why. I decided to check it out. Maybe there is another survivor out there. I tried to locate the source of the crying, it seemed to be coming from the East. With all of the cars, trucks and buses around me, it made it very hard to locate the crying. A few infected were around, and they didn't prove too much of a threat. 'Easy kill, hooah!' I thought with a grin as I gunned down the last infected, 'I need a challenge before I lose all of my skills I gained during Selection… Where did that Tank go? I got more than enough ammo for that punk. I hate leaving targets like that around.'

I reloaded my Mac 10 and continued to search for the source of that crying. I eventually make my way off the street and into a neighborhood and located the source of the crying. A Witch was standing in the middle of the road, and was walking towards me. 'Great… Well I guess I might really be the only one left. Me versus the entire population of this city, which was about 600,000. I think they need more men,' I thought as I looked for a way to give the Witch a good amount of breathing room. On the right side of the street was a truck and on the left was a car. I was about to climb over the car when I noticed that it had its car alarm on. I quickly back tracked and tried to get onto the hood of the truck. I made quite a bit of noise, but the witch, who was getting way to close for personal comfort or safety, didn't notice. I then got on the roof of the truck and jumped over to the trailer, which was a lot harder than it sounded. I then ran along the top of the trailer. To my right was a balcony for the second floor of a house. I quickly jumped over it and started moving along the wall keeping one eye on what was happening in front of me and the other on what was behind me.

Of course when I got to the corner of the house there were more zombies. They saw me just as I saw them. I was quicker on the trigger and I unloaded the Mac 10 on the zombies. When my clip ran dry, half of the hoard had been eliminated. The rest had gotten within arm's reach and started to try and either rip me apart or sink their teeth into me. I drop the Mac ten and start to fight them the hard way, hand to hand. As I start to smash my fists and elbows into the zombie's faces, I try to disengage to pull out my combat shotgun. Eventually I am able to claw my way out of the hoard and I grab the shotgun off my shoulder. I check the load of the shotgun and confirm there is a shell in the chamber. I then shoulder the weapon and pull on the trigger. The zombie closest to my barrel just disappeared and was replaced by a red mist. Several zombies lost an arm, a leg, a head, or a combination of the three as the twelve gauge magnum buck shot tore through their bodies. I continued to unload the shotgun before the last round fired and my shotgun clicked on an empty chamber. I reached into one of the pockets that I have stuffed with the ammo for the shotgun, and grabbed as many shells I could fit into my hand. I loaded them into the shotgun as fast as I could with dropping the shells. I was able to load the shells in very fast, definitely faster than any civi could. I then unloaded again and cut into the zombie hoard in front of me again. The last zombie fell as I reloaded the shotgun for the second time. I then walked over and grabbed the Mac 10 and placed it in its 'holster,' my right front pocket. Normally I would say that it would be too close to an important part of my body; but in this situation, it was perfectly safe.

My ears were ringing from the concussive force of the shotgun going off. I felt a nagging at the back of my mind. 'Oh sh- Witch!' I thought as I turned around and looked at the Witch staring at me from the street. That glance did it. She ran towards me, shrieking all the while. I put round after round towards her as I started backing up. I quickly slung the shotgun and came out with the M16. As the Witch climbed up the side of the building, I aimed for where she would get top of the balcony. I aim for where I thought her head would be. I turned out to be right. As soon as her head appeared, I pulled the trigger and sent a three round burst (AN: in the game, the M16 is a full auto rifle, in real life it can only use a three round burst if the person who bought it is either military/police [as in purchasing the weapon for that] or is qualified to own an 'automatic' weapon. Otherwise it's a single-fire weapon [one round per trigger pull]. I felt generous [which is rare] and gave him a standard military issue M16A4) down range. The three round impacted right in her head and threw her back off the balcony. I didn't stay to see if that or the fall killed her. I turned around and booked it along the balcony and found that the supports for the balcony had given away and cause it to drop to the ground level. I slid down the ramp it made, slung the M16, and pulled the Mac 10 out. I beat feet down the alleyway there and turned left onto the next street. As I rounded the corner, I cursed my luck (AN: that would be me :-D ) and let loose with my Mac 10 as I ran back towards the ramp made by the balcony. Now chasing me were around forty infected, along with two Spitters, a Jockey, a Boomer, two Hunters, three Chargers, and a Smoker. I quickly ran up the ramp and vaulted over the railing. As I did I noticed that the Witch wasn't dead and almost took my head off with a swipe of her claws.

'I don't get paid enough for this!' I thought as I landed on the ground hard. I quickly pushed myself to my feet and started running back the way I came. I looked behind me and saw the mass amount of followers I had gained as I booked it down the street, dodging cars and obstacles. I reached into the pocket that I placed the pipe bombs in and grabbed one. I quickly activated it and dropped behind me. I didn't stop to see if any of the zombies stopped to try and 'kill' the pipe bomb once I got a safe distance away, I just kept on beating feet. When the explosion went off, I did risk a glance behind me and saw that a small portion of the mob was gone, but there still was enough to cause me some problems with my health insurance. I grabbed another one and tossed it in front of me this time. I then ran past it and tried to figure out where I was running. I then realized that I was almost at the place that I split off to find the 'crying girl'. The pipe bomb went off and took another chunk out of my pursuers. As soon as I got to the point that I heard the crying, I ran northward and followed the street. I dodged past cars and ran into more infected. I quickly mowed them down with the Mac 10, and then shot the remainder of the clip over my shoulder. I heard an explosion and then realized I had nailed the Boomer. I gave out a mental sigh as I knew that that had taken out a few more of the infected that were after me. I quickly reload the magazine as I continue running down the street, not really paying any attention to where I was running.

Once I finished with the reload I looked up and saw a Tank. That is also when I noticed that the Tank was the same Tank from earlier. 'Oh, COME ON!' I screamed in my head as I took a sharp right and ran into an alleyway. I ducked as I did and was able to dodge another swipe from the Witch. I fired the Mac 10 again over my shoulder to try and get some breathing room. After the magazine was empty, I grabbed a fresh one and jammed it in. After chambering a new round I tore left down a T-intersection and booked it back onto a street. In front of me where even more infected. I focused on taking the ones that were in front of me out so that I could keep running. I sprayed the area down with bullets and took out all of the ones in front of me. Again, I then sprayed the rest of the mag behind me to gather as much breathing room as possible. As I was reloading, I noticed a safe house symbol pointing down an alleyway. I changed directions and started running for the safe house. I kept the Mac 10 aimed down the alleyway as I kept running. I saw several infected up ahead and noticed that there was a propane tank near them. I aimed and fired at it. The tank exploded and shredded the infected near it. There were about three left. I looked behind men and the mob of infected were gaining on me. I quickly grabbed the final pipe bomb I had and tossed it ahead of me.

The three infected in front of me went after it immediately as I ran past them. I then saw the safe house just a couple of yards away and up a set of steps. I pushed myself as hard as I could to get to the room as the pipe bomb went off. I heard a loud roar and realized that the pipe bomb must have hit the Tank. 'Oh great, here we go again!' I thought as I booked it up the metal steps. I had to slow down on the stairs slightly so I fired my Mac 10 at the mob blindly as I rushed up the steps. As I get to the door, the metal grate like balcony I was on suddenly collapsed screeching. I dove for the door and was able to get my free hand on the metal bars of it before the floor beneath me dropped. I quickly try to open the door and get in before any infected could try and knock me down. I end up swinging the door out from the room. So I quickly try to get on the inside part of the door while I look down at the mess of infected zombies below me. A hunter tried to jump up and grab me, but a boot to the face kept him from doing so. I quickly aim the Mac 10 at the biggest threat, the Tank, and open up. The rounds hit their mark and the recoil of the weapon swing the door inwards. The door then swung into the room. I let go and quickly shut the door and lock it.

I let out a huge sigh of relief and said out loud, "Man, what a day. What a day. What I wouldn't kill for some freaking leave…"

**Author's Note:** Well, that's done. And to answer the question I know you all are thinking, yes I am overly cruel to my characters; especially when it comes to screwing with my character's minds. I'm no shrink, but I think a lot of what I throw at my characters would break all but the strongest mentally or the most dedicated of men. Also when a soldier says "leave," in the context that is used in the story, it means the same as if a civilian said "vacation."


	3. Dreams and Memories

**Author's Note:** Wow, I'm on a roll. I have bigger, longer, and more important projects to work on than this but my muse has firmly decided to work on only this, lol. Two chapters within two-four hours (24 for those of you who don't understand mil-speak), Hooah Airborne! So far no one has guessed on what SSDD means. If no one guesses by the time I post the next chapter (chp 4) than I'll just tell everyone.

**Response to Reviews:**

Coldsoul1315: Glad you liked it! The main character is one of my characters. I will tell you that he is US Special Forces, and trust me, he has had worse days than this; although being chased by a mob of zombies, that all want to rip you limb from limb and eat the corpse, along with a zombie that makes a Humvee look like a clown car, a zombie that has claws that make a K-bar look like a pocket knife, and in a situation that makes Hell look like Chucky Cheeses is definitely one for the record books.

Carbon839: Hooah! Glad you liked it.

RoseintheShadows7: Look at Coldsoul1315's response.

Chapter Three: Dreams and Memories

I looked around the safe room. I found more ammo and weapons along with medical kits. I quickly check myself for any injuries. I found none, so I ignored them for now. I moved over to the weapons and found a sniper rifle, another M16, and a pump shotgun. Since I already have a M16 and a shotgun, I looked at the sniper rifle. I checked its load and found the weapon fully loaded. I looked around some more and found several pipe bombs and Molotov's. I grabbed the pipe bombs and stashed them, and then I grabbed the Molotov's. I searched around and found a lighter. It was fairly fancy. It had gold plated and was one of those flip lighters. I really didn't have much experience with them since I don't smoke. I light one of the Molotov's and slipped it through the bars. It felled and smashed into the ground among the mob of zombies that I had just escaped from. I then lit and dropped another one. After that I tried to locate the Tank or the Witch.

Suddenly the Witch grabbed a hold of the bars and tried to get in. I fell back in surprise and grabbed the sniper rifle. In a well practiced motion, I snapped the rifle up to my shoulder aim down the scope for the sniper rifle, and aimed for the Witch's head. Once I had it in my sights I quickly squeezed the trigger. The round went just a few short feet out of the barrel and flew through the Witch's head. Its body fell and I heard it land on the ground. Then the two Hunters jumped onto the door and tried to get in. 'Wash, rinse, repeat,' I though as I shouldered the rifle again. Two shots later both Hunters were dead. I set the sniper rifle down and grabbed the remaining Molotov's. I lit all of them and started throwing them at the uncommon infected I could see. Years of combat experience made this easy, since the Spitters couldn't hit me through the door and the Tank seemed to have disappeared. When I noticed the Tank missing I thought, 'Oh come on, the first time I'm in a defensible position, the target I want to whack grows a brain and leaves the area,' as I throw another Molotov at a cluster of zombies.

Once I'm out of Molotov's, which some must have raided a bar or something for all of that alcohol in those Molotov's, I pull out my old trusty Mac 10. I check the load and find it's about a quarter full. I aim through the bars and open up. By now the sizable mob I had been running from before was cut down to about a quarter of the common infected remaining and all of the uncommon infected were dead. Another savage grin appears on my face as I unload the remainder of the current magazine followed by another full one. Once that was finished I checked the supplies for more ammo. I restocked ammo for my shotgun and gained about four more clips, I reloaded the M16 and exchanged the partially filled mag with a full one, and I loaded down again with Mac 10 mags. I noticed a small hallway leading off from the entrance and exit to the safe house. I aimed my Mac 10 down the hallway and found three more rooms.

One room was a bedroom with the window that it had all boarded up, the second was a bathroom that was stocked with personal hygiene supplies, and the last room was a kitchen. Things started to look up for once as I found that the kitchen was still stocked. The first thing I decided to do was grab some hot chow as the bottle of water and bag of ships I had earlier in the day were long gone as far as my stomach was concerned. I searched through what the kitchen had to offer. I grabbed various food items and went with a high calorie meal. It was easy to quickly fix it up and put it on a plate with actual eating utensils. I set all of my weapons off to the side save the Mac 10, which I had placed right next to my food for easy access. After I tore through the food, I checked for something to drink. I found several different kinds and chose another high calorie pop. I went through about four cans of it before I was satisfied. The very next thing I did was gather my kit and head for the bathroom. I dumped all of the stuff off in the room, took care of some personal business, and then took a long hot shower. After spending the last two weeks bounding from place to place fighting to save the few people we could, it takes a toll on a soldier. Showers are precious commodities on the battlefield and so is the hot water and time to enjoy them. Since I had the time and the resources, I took advantage of it. After a good thirty minute soak, I stepped out, dried off, and walked in front of the mirror.

The first thing I noticed was how scraggily my beard was. The second thing I noticed was that I had a beard. I looked around for a razor and some shaving cream to quickly shave off the offending hairs and return myself to regulation. I find some proper equipment and quickly get back to regulation beard length, which is no beard at all. I then take a good look at myself. I noticed that I had a few scars on my face that I didn't have before this whole "zombie apocalypse" started. The man I looked at in the mirror seemed completely foreign to me. I'm a thin feather-weight at around 160 pounds and am around six foot two. I have brown hair and hazel eyes. I had a tanned Caucasian skin tone because of the amount of time I've spent recently outside under the sun. I was lucky to have tanned out after the first week of slogging through whatever while me and my platoon fought to rescue several survivors that where under constant assault.

Funny how just a short time ago, I was just a high school student and was more worried about the upcoming Final exams, and looking for a college than going to war and fighting terrorists in the Middle East. I'm twenty eight years old and I look like some of the forty year old combat veterans that I have met throughout my Basic training, AIT (Advanced Individual Training, Military Operation Specialty [MOS] training), Airborne, Air Assault, Ranger Schools, and both Selection and Q-Course. I always thought that I would never become someone like them. They always seemed like such heroes to us civi's, like they were the pinnacle of what humans could do, of what we could become. My mind started to wonder back to better times. I felt the fatigue of the past few hours start to set in. I yawned, got redressed in my ACUs, and got my gear back on. Besides all of the weapons and medical supplies, I had a set of dragon scales armor, and an old Molly pack equipment harness. Both of them were in the new digital ACU pattern, instead of the old wood camouflage BDU pattern. I then left the bathroom and went into the bedroom.

The last time I slept in a bed was about three weeks ago. The bed had everything on it and was fully made. I stripped off my gear and set it down next to the bed. I then set the Mac 10 on the nightstand next to the bed and shut the door to the room. I also braced the door with my equipment and anything else I could find in the room so that I could get a descent amount of sleep instead of the usual ten to sixty mikes (minutes). I then slipped under the covers and fell asleep the moment I got settled.

I slowly woke up. The first thing I did was look around. The room wasn't the one I went to sleep in, but somehow it seemed familiar. Then it struck me. This is my room! This is the same room I lived in for thirteen years. I quickly got out of bed and got dressed. I all but flew down the stairs. Sitting in the living room was both my mother and my father. They both were talking about something before I came in. Tears stung my eyes when I saw them. My mother stood up and was going to say something before I interrupted her by hugging her. I hadn't seen her for a little over a decade. My mother, while surprised, returned the hug.

"What's up with you today? You act like you've not seen me in years," she said with a small laugh, "Now you better hurry off to school, or you'll be late." I let her go and grabbed my backpack and head out to my car. I got in and drove off towards my high school, which was about three miles away.

When I got there I parked my car in the usual spot, grabbed my stuff, and went to my first period class. When I got there I went to my seat, which was in the front of the class room, and saw that the teacher had the TV on. The News was currently on, but I couldn't hear anything due to the roar of chatter going on. Then the anchorman got passed some sheet. Obviously it was important enough that they had to interrupt what he was saying to give him it. A reporter suddenly came on the screen. Underneath the picture of the Reporter on the scene were the words, explosion in downtown Northfield. That caught my attention immediately.

"Hey, Shut Up! There was an explosion not too far from here!" I yelled out over the noise of everyone. The noise dulled down enough to hear the reporter.

"…explosion happened not thirty minutes ago. Firefighters are still fighting the blaze, to try and keep the surrounding buildings from catching on fire," she said as the camera shifted to show the fire that was being fought. For some odd reason the place looked familiar. Then it hit me. That's my home!

The reporter then continued, "We have just got word that there was a vehicle still inside the garage when the explosion happened. It is possible that there were people caught in the blast." Several people gasped, but I didn't register it. My mind had shut down. 'No. No. No, no, no, no, NO!' I screamed in my head. I felt tears start falling down my face. My parents had stayed home today so that we could get ready to go on vacation this Saturday, just the three of us. I felt a hand touch my shoulder hesitantly. It didn't even register as my mind was stuck on a loop of denial. Eventually the teacher came in and saw what had happened. The room was deathly quiet as she walked over quickly and turned off the TV. However, the damage was done. My hand slammed against my desk as a sob escaped my throat, which was followed by another, and then another. Soon I was outright balling about what had just happened.

I heard some voice talking but I didn't understand what they were saying, since my mind was completely submerged in sorrow. The hand on my shoulder never left, but was joined by another. This time it was on the opposite side. Then I felt someone hug me from behind. I don't know how but the hug just made things somehow feel better. It still hurt badly, but it felt like there would be an end to the pain eventually. But for now, I just laid there at my desk crying over the family I had just lost.

Eventually the sobs stopped, my body dehydrated from the tears that it spilled, and my throat to sore to continue. I kept my head down on the desk in my arms for a while longer before I just stood up and started walking towards the door. I didn't care what happened or where I went. I just walked, completely numb to the world.

**Author's Note:** To be continued...


	4. Earning Some Pay

**Author's Note:** Alright, it seems no one knows what SSDD means. It stands for Same S***, Different Day. It's one of the few standard soldier gripes. Wow, this story is getting to be more popular than I thought it was going to be. Good thing, I just thought of a storyline to add onto this, and a sequel. I just need to finish this first, Hooah! Also, I would have gotten this out sooner, but a combination of things, (ie, school, AROTC [Army Reserve Officer Training Corp], and general laziness) have kept me from finishing/posting this. Last thing, Mar 27 (yesterday) was my birthday. Hooah!

**Response to Reviews:**

Coldsoul1315: Glad I could help. Trust me, things actually get worse… That's all I can give without giving everything away. Also, I was talking (*cough*emailing*cough*) to another author and I told him what happened to "me." He called me, and I quote, an "evil bastard." To which I replied, "Thanks, I try," lol.

johnny: Glad you liked it. What I meant by the last thing was that "I" closed "my" eyes to focus on "my" breathing. "I" then passed out from exhaustion after a small amount of time doing that. "I" was still conscious at the time "I" closed "my" eyes.

Toby H: God? I don't think my writing is God. I think it's good, but then again I'm biased. Uhhmmm, how does reading the first paragraph make the whole story good? Please read more before saying that my story is good. I'm happy that paragraph is good, but…

Chapter Four: Earning Some Pay

I woke up with tears streaming down my face. Every time I close my eyes, I relive those horrible days. I threw off the covers and stood up. I quickly stretched and threw on my uniform and gear. I checked the load of all of my weapons and then unbarred the door. I quickly swept through the safe house and made sure it was clear before I sat down to eat a quick breakfast. After I finished, I quickly packed as much of the food and as I could fit in my rucksack as I could. I back-loaded (A/N: to place on ones back, like a backpack. Opposite of front-load) the ruck and moved back to the main room. I grabbed as much ammo for the M16, shotgun, Mac 10, and the sniper rifle as I could.

I looked at the sniper rifle. It was a semi-auto 7.62mm clip-loaded sniper. It had an amazing scope on it, Military/Spec-ops grade. It even had a nice bi-pod on it, another Military/Spec-Ops grade piece of kit. The weapon must have been taken from a military base after the infection spread that housed some SOCOM operators. I slung the rifle, and now with four weapons on me, it was starting to get heavy. 'I'm not going to be wining any races, so better not get myself into any.' I thought as I went to the exit of the safe room with the Mac 10 in my hands.

There wasn't a zombie in sight. I unlatched the door and opened it. I walked out and scanned the area. The area was entirely empty. It was an open patio type area overlooking several rooftops. There were gaps in between each roof due to roads or alleys. There was no cover what so ever and plenty of hiding spots. The area had a bad feeling associated with it. I kept my head on a swivel. I didn't look at one place for too long. The gaps between the buildings made me nervous. They would require me to jump, and with the weight on me, it would definitely be tough to make each jump, even with a running start. If any infected came by, I would be trapped on one of those rooftops. Several rooftops away, I saw a door. I holstered my Mac 10 and pulled out the sniper rifle. I looked through the scope and confirmed that there was a door. It was twenty rooftops away.

I looked around for another way down, but I couldn't find anything. 'Why me?' I mentally cried as I put my back against the door to the safe house, and slung the sniper rifle. I then ran as fast as I could. I jumped as soon as I got to the ledge.

I landed and kept running towards the door in the distance. I then leapt over another gap when I felt a part of the roof give out. I was able to keep my speed and balance but I heard something drop from the roof. Suddenly there were several alarms going off. 'Oh! Come on!' I thought as I heard a hoard cry out. I continued to run as I saw a few of the hoard climb up onto the next rooftop. I leapt over to the next rooftop and tried to push myself to run faster as the infected tried to grab me. I was able to dodge their hands, but when I jumped over to the next rooftop, I slammed into the edge with my chest. I hadn't noticed that I was crossing a small, one-lane road when I jumped. I was able to get a grip but the wind was knocked out of me. I pulled myself onto the roof, and stood up. I started running again and was able to leap to the next rooftop. On the next rooftop was another hoard that I charged through, and I was just able to jump to the next rooftop when I got slammed into the roof. I threw an elbow behind me and hit whatever jumped on top of me. I quickly rolled over on top of it and I quickly drove more elbows strikes into it. I then quickly got to my feet and rolled away from whatever attacked me and drew the Mac 10. I spun on my heel and faced the infected on the ground.

A Hunter had jumped on my back. I was lucky to have hit it with my elbow enough times to stun it for me to get off. I hosed it down with the Mac 10. I then took off sprinting again. I fired the Mac 10 behind me as I jumped to another rooftop. I did this for three more rooftops and I was half way there. I saw another hoard about three rooftops away. I started spraying them down with the Mac 10 and I jumped across the rooftops.

When I got to the rooftops they were on, I dispatched the last one of the hoard. I dropped the empty mag and slammed in a new one as I jumped to another rooftop. I cocked the weapon as I landed and two steps later, the roof under me collapses.

"Ahhh!" I yelled as I dropped. I then landed on my back with a grunt. I looked up and realized that I fallen down two floors.

"Yeah, that hurt," I groaned as I pushed myself to my feet, "Only I could have this bad of luck…" I heard a growl from above me. I looked up and saw a Hunter poised and ready to pounce. I raised the Mac 10 and hosed the punk down. The Hunter jumped at me with a growl as the 9mm rounds punched through its body. The Hunter slamed into the wall behind me and didn't move afterwards.

Now on my feet, I looked around at the destroyed bedroom I currently occupied. I then ran out the only door I could find. I holstered the Mac 10 in my pocket and unslung the M1014 from my back. I checked the load of the M1014 to make sure it was loaded and then shouldered the weapon. I move forward quickly when a Boomer stumbles into the hallway. I fired the shotgun and the Boomer exploded. I slid a shotgun shell into the shotgun, and continued forward. I walked through the door that the Boomer was dropped. It was an apartment and the far wall caved in. The building across the street partially collapsed and had crashed into this building.

A hoard of infected started to rush towards me from the other side. I fired into the mass with the shotgun. I quickly ran out of ammunition and started to backtrack as I slipped more shells into the weapon. I was able to push them back every time I fired the shotgun, but was pushed back when I needed to reload. The swarm just wouldn't end! After I finished the sixth clip of ammo, I automatically started to reload and backpedal until I realized that I had just killed the last infected. By that time, I had been pushed back into the room I had originally landed in. I slung the shotgun and unslung the M16. I shouldered the weapon and advanced quickly o the next building. I heard a roar that sent a chill up my spin.

"Tank," I whispered as I tried to find a window outside to locate that Tank. I ran into a few common infected, but a few barks from my M16 took care of them. I found a window that had a fire escape on the outside. I looked around quickly, but couldn't find the Tank that roared earlier. Suddenly the building I was in started to shake wildly. I grab the windowsill that I was next to and pull myself onto the fire escape. I clambered up the fire escape as the building shook. When I got to the top of the fire escape, I heard a loud _thud_ come from it. Suddenly I felt that heart-in-throat sensation of free-fall. The next thing I knew was that I crashed through a window and slammed hard into the floor.

It took me a few minutes to recover, as with the weight of gear on me and my wind being knocked out of me I had a hard time breathing. As soon as I could breathe, I pushed myself to my feet and grabbed my M16 that had been knocked out of my hands. I cleared the small supply room I was in and looked at the window I had been thrown through. I was lucky not to have had several piece of glass get driven into my arms, legs, and neck. I quickly move through the only door in the room and find several infected waiting for me in the next room. A short firefight and half a magazine later, I waded through the bodies on the floor and found a staircase that went the roof. Only problem was that there was were several infected in my way, including a Spitter and a Hunter. My rifle immediately targeted the Spitter and let loose four rounds. All four hit it in the head and the beast collapses in a pool of its own goo. The Hunter then leapt at me. I ducked underneath it and yanked out my knife. I then spun around and stabbed it into its head. The thing went limp immediately and slid off my knife as I angled the knife downwards.

I fired the rifle one-handed as I wiped the knife on the Hunter's clothing and sheathed it. I dropped three common infected with five bursts of fire by the time I returned back to the correct firing position. I started to advance my way up the stairs as I switch my M16 from three-round burst to single shot. Four common infected rush at me and I quickly drop them with four shots. As I was about to step over the corpses, one of them tried to grab my leg and bite it. I jumped back and yanked out my pistol on my left thigh. I fire one nine-millimeter round and blow the thing's brains out. I holster the pistol and cautiously step over the corpses again. I eventually make it to the roof. I was engaged ten more times by the infected during that three floor climb. I had to pull out my knife only once when another Hunter tried to jump me.

The entire rooftop was clear and so were the rest of the four rooftops I had to get across. I started to run when a Smoker made his presence known. I saw some movement to my right. I chose not to chance it and dropped. The Smoker's tongue overshot me, but just barely. I took aim and fired one three-round burst. The Smoker disappeared in a cloud of green smoke. I pushed myself back to my feet and jumped to the next rooftop. I soon after, jumped across another rooftop without any interference. I then all out sprint and jump across to the second to last rooftop. I misjudged the distance to that rooftop and slam into a patio-like space, one floor below. My M16 flies out of my hands as I start to slip off the edge. I didn't see were my rifle landed, but I didn't fall off the edge. My fingers were able to stop me from falling. I looked over my shoulder. I was about seven stories in the air, over and open street. If I fell, I wouldn't survive. Either I would be killed outright from the fall, or be a sitting duck for the Infected. I felt the adrenaline fit and, by sheer force of will, hauled myself up and over the edge.

When I stood up, I felt something slam into my back. Then I felt something trying to slash through my rucksack, weapons, and armor to get at me. I forced the thing on my back off me as I rolled I rolled in the opposite direction. I yanked out both of my pistols and aimed at the Hunter. The Infected then jumped at me again, but I dove out of the way. The beast sailed over the edge of the patio I was on and disappeared from sight. I looked over the edge and saw the beast in a rapidly expanding pool of blood on the ground. I took aim and put five rounds from each pistol into the thing. I then went inside the room and found my weapon leaning up against the bed in the room.

I then holstered my pistols and grabbed it. I then charged through the only door available and walked swiftly through the hallways until I found a stairs. I quickly ascended them and came out on the roof. I looked to my right and saw the safe house, just a few meters away. With renewed hope and energy coursing through me, I ran at it and jumped. I landed perfectly and quickly opened the door. I then slammed it shut and locked it. After I finished that, I took off my rucksack, laid down on the floor and passed out from exhaustion.

You know the drill, Read and Review and I'll see you all next time when I get a writer's block on Star Fox: Tib Wars.


	5. A Death and a Rebirth

**Author's Note:** I made a mistake in "Dreams and Memories" chapter. I fixed it, and despite that I only fixed two sentences, it's still a major change. I would suggest reading through what "I" said my life was before reading this, if you want the rest of the story to make sense.

**Response to Reviews:**

Kody: First off, glad you like the story. It seems that this is becoming a lot more popular than I first envisioned. Anyway, on to the review itself. Just to give you an idea of how much time has passed since the extraction of his team and the L4D2 survivors, it's been two days, about three miles (give or take) of urban terrain, and that last chapter took a couple of hours (you'd be surprised how long it can take a soldier to take a standard city bloc from an entrenched enemy, two hours is quick). Also, for the most part this story takes place during the daytime. Say from 0800H (8 AM) to 1700H (5 PM), when lighting isn't much of an issue. I will note it if the setting is dawn, dusk, or night, but if it's day I won't mention it (although, now that I go back and reread some of what I wrote, I realized I forgot to say that chp 2's end took place during dusk, same thing with chp 3's beginning). There will start being times when he has to move during the night (and that will not be fun for him, muahahaha *cough, cough, cough, hack, cough* Does anyone have a Ricola?). Also, with the way things are going, maybe I'll be able to fit in a few civi's, but they won't be staying for long, this chapter will give a hint at why.

Chapter Five: A Death, and a Rebirth

I slowly trudged down the hallways and corridors that filled the school. I bumped into a few people, but it never registered to me. I just pushed my way through. Eventually I walked out of the building and over to my car. I just looked at it for what felt like an hour. I then turned from it and just started walking. I didn't even care where my feet took me. I just wanted to roll over and die, but at the same time, I knew I needed to move on despite how much it hurt. I just kept walking, and walking, and walking.

Time had lost all meaning to me. The images that I saw kept replaying through my mind. In an instant, my whole world was turned upside down, and I just kept walking. My mind went back to the time that my dad and I went out to play some basketball, another time my mother took me to a nearby water park. The times we all went to visit an uncle in Florida, the times we went to see the ocean, the time we climbed the mountains in Colorado, the times we visited New York City, the time we visited Washington DC, the time we spent in Arlington. All of these memories flew through my mind, and a fresh set of tears came to my eyes.

I then noticed that I had stopped. I looked around and realized that I had walked to my town's memorial for soldiers that are KIAs, MIAs, or POWs. On the memorial was a list of every soldier that was one of those statuses that lived in my town. There were at least 1,500 names on it, sorted by war and in alphabetical order. I read through each name and for some reason I felt a strength growing from inside. It felt like pride, but it felt different. It felt like the burden I was carrying was being eased off of my shoulders, and on to the shoulders of others. With each name I read, I felt tears sting my eyes as well as the feeling of my burden being lifted.

My mind focused on the pain that each of those families felt, and less on my own pain. I mourned for each soldier that gave his life for mine, for the pain that they suffered, the sacrifices they made and so that I don't ever have to. They made a sacrifice for me, and for each other. Each of these men were brothers to one another. They had their own families, and yet found another family to belong. For that family, they died…

Hope suddenly filled me. I may have just lost my own family, but if I joined, I would have a family again. My mind made up, I dried my eyes and looked around. I noticed James, my best friend, Davidson standing behind me. We basically were brothers, with how much time we spent together and our families were close friends.

"You ok?" he asked. I nodded slowly and walked over to him. "You know, you can stay with us…" he said quietly, I nodded again.

"Thank you," I said with a sad smile. At least I still had people I could count on. He then held out his hand and I grabbed it with mine. I couldn't help but grin as we pulled each other close and chest-bumped each other as we gave each other a brotherly pat on the back. He grinned back and we both headed back towards the school.

When we got back to the school, the principle stopped us at the door. He told us to take the rest of the day off, and that I was to take as long as I needed before coming back to school. I nodded my thanks and we both turned around and walked to James' car. We both got in and drove to his house. I felt a pang of loss as we left the school, but I was able to handle it. I had cried by heart out already, so I just needed to let the wound heal. We drove to his house. James then opened the door and walked in.

Suddenly time seemed to blur, and the next thing I knew I was standing in front of a Sergeant First Class who had his hand extended. In his other hand was the contract I just signed. Then time blurred again and I was running through an obstacle course.

"Move it Private! You think that's fast?! My Grandmother can run faster! She got MS and has been dead for six years! Move your-" one of the explosive charges they placed near the track exploded drowning out the Drill Sergeant that was yelling at me. I focused on my breathing to keep from panting, and tried to push myself a little faster, while pushing my Drill Sergeant's voice from my mind. The M16 I had in my hands gave me some comfort, for whatever reason, and the eighty-pound rucksack on my back slammed into it every running step.

I leapt over a low wooden barricade, and dove headfirst under some barbed wire. I crawled as fast as I could with the Drill Sergeant still on my heals, yelling at me about how slow and useless I was. After I was clear of the barbed wire, I pushed myself to my feet as more of those controlled explosions went off. I continued running. Time blurred again.

I was standing in the door of an old C-130 Hercules transport. The plan turned to the right and I was suddenly holding myself by my fingers to keep from falling out of the craft. My heart leapt into my throat as I looked 35,000 feet down to the ground. I never liked heights, but my training kicked in and I quickly calmed down. The plane then leveled off and I was standing normally in the door. Suddenly the light right next to me went from red to green. I threw myself out of the craft.

My stomach this time took some vacation time in my throat as I fell. I mentally counted out four seconds when I felt the jerk of my parachute deploying. I looked up and checked the chute for any holes or anything that could possibly cause my parachute to collapse. After I checked the chute and was happy with it, I looked out at the view of the world as I continued to fall. As much as I hate heights, I had to admit, the view was amazing. I was happy that this was my last training jump. I had excelled in Airborne School, despite my fear of heights, and I've been told, privately, by the instructors that I have preformed almost perfectly. The ground was coming up fast. I adjusted my direction of travel and at around fifty feet, I dropped my equipment, and a few seconds later, I perform a PLF (Parachute Landing Fall). As I get back to my feet I think, 'How decided to call this a PLF? I'm not falling to the ground! I'm crashing into the ground. It should be a PLC!' The instructor that watched me perform the landing ran over.

"Good job, Private. The land was satisfactory," he said as he patted me on the back as I gathered my equipment. I grinned. I was getting my wings. Time blurred again.

I was in my dress uniform standing in formation. A Colonel stepped in front of me. He handed me a tan Berea, a black and gold tab, and shook my hand.

"Congratulations Specialist, welcome to the Rangers," he said. I couldn't help but smile as I shook his hand. At last, I made it. I was a Ranger! I couldn't believe it, after so long, so much pain and torture! Then the thought of my parents tempered my elation of victory. 'I wish they were here right now,' I thought as we were called to attention. We then were dismissed. I ran over to joined James and his family. They all patted me on the back with their congratulations.

"I just wish my parents were here," I said when they noticed that I wasn't as happy as I seemed when I got my tab.

"They would have been proud," James said. He always seemed to know exactly what to say and when to say it. I smiled and I placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thanks for being there for my bro," I said. Over the last two years, we had grown as close as brothers. He was always there to help me to my feet when I stumbled, and was there to pat me on the back when I succeeded. If it weren't for him, I would not be where I was today. James had gone to college where I went into the Army. The last few months of high school were rough, but I pulled through with my typical grades of B's and A's. I had wanted to go to college before I lost my parents, but… A tap on the shoulder, interrupted that train of thought. I turned around and found the Colonel standing there. I immediately snapped to attention and saluted him. He returned the salute.

"Here are your new transfer orders and your new duty station. They expect you to be there in two weeks. Good luck, Specialist," he said as he handed over me orders, "and one last thing. I'm sorry about your parents. I'm sure they would be very proud to have a son like you." I snapped to attention and saluted him before he walked away, to which he returned. I then looked through my orders and saw I was heading to Fort Benning to report to my new unit; Forth squad, First platoon, Alpha company, 3rd battalion, of the 75th Rangers.

I woke slowly. I shook my head to get rid of the lingering sleep that clung to my mind. I looked around and stood up. The first thing I saw was a radio on a table. I ran over to it and turned it on. I quickly set it to the emergency frequency that we had set up, put on the headset, and sat down on a computer chair that was seated just in front of the radio.

"Tango-one-six, this is Charlie-tree-six, over," I said into the mic. I waited a minute before I tried again, "Tango-one-six, this is Charlie-tree-six, come in over."

"Charlie-tree-six, this is Tango-one-six. Good to hear from you Lieutenant! We thought we lost you, over," came over the radio. I could have jumped for joy, but kept my composure.

"Tango-one-six, it's good to hear from you too. I need extraction here, over," I said.

"Charlie-tree-six, wait one, over," Tango-one-six said, a few minutes later he said, "That's a negative on extract, break. We currently have multiple evac's going on, break. Wait one, Charlie-tree-six, over." A few minutes later, "Charlie-tree-six, new orders from Foxtrot-six. You are to head to Camp Shelby, break. Once there you are to secure a weapon that was being tested there, break. Radio when once you are there and we'll give you more specific instruction on where and what it is, break. Once you have it, you'll need to make your way towards Fort Polk, break. Once there, radio for extraction and we'll get you out, break. Pick up any survivors you can; however your primary object is to secure that weapon, over."

"Wait one, Tango-one-six, over" I said as I mentally reviewed the orders and maps in my head. Camp Shelby is North of my location, in Mississippi, and Fort Polk is West, still in Louisiana. Once I had a basic map figured out I said, "Understood, Tango-one-six. Confirm objectives: One, move to Camp Shelby, Mississippi, break. Two, secure weapon located at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, break. Three, move to Fort Polk, Louisiana, break. Four, extract with weapon, break. Five, rescue what survivors I can find, secondary objective, over."

"Confirmed Charlie-tree-six, good luck and Godspeed, Tango-one-six out," came from the radio. I leaned back in the chair and let out a soft whistle. 'This mission just got a lot more interesting…and not the good kind of interesting…' I thought. I stood up and looked around. I found another ammunition pile and quickly sorted through it. I took what ammo I could fit into whatever pockets were still available to fit something into, and I checked the few weapons there; a few Mac 10's, a shotgun, a hunting rifle, and an M16. Nothing I needed to exchange any of my weapons for. I also found a watch. I quickly put that on my wrist to replace the one that was broken in the fight for that bridge not too long ago. I check the time and it says 0800H (8 AM). I quickly grabbed some food and water, and had a quick breakfast. I then looked at the door that lead out of this place and walked towards it.

**Author's Note:** For those of you who are wondering why the radio communications looks, and sounds, so weird, it's because I'm using the military standard communication style. "Over," means that I'm done speaking, but am waiting a reply. "Break," means I'm not done speaking, just gathering thoughts/information before I can continue, or I'm just breaking up the information. "Out," is just like "over" but instead of waiting for a reply, it means I'm not expecting a reply. "Out" is generally used only by the more senior person on the line. For an example when "out" would be used by a subordinate is when they are taking fire, and are just informing his commander. One last thing, those two places actually exist and are real US Army bases. I may work for the US Army, but I don't own it, so by extension I don't own them either.


	6. Operation: Gauntlet

**Author's Note**: Sorry for taking so long. I was in a writing slump for a while (and have been working on other stories, but let's keep that between ourselves, shhhh). Anyway…

**Response to Reviews:**

Guszy: I will not say that this is my best work. The reason I started this story was to work on my first and second drafting skills, not so much as write the best story possible. I thought I might get a few people who would read through it and review so I could get more feedback on how I write. This has become more popular than I thought it ever would. The reason it feels so "this happens, and then that, and then…" is that I'm trying to show that the situation is just not stopping. The character hasn't had a whole lot of time to sit down and just thing. It's always been, "What's over the next hill? What's across the next street? What's around the next corner?" and it's supposed to be tiring. The doggedness of the zombies will exhaust even the most stalwart of people. I'm still working on my technique to show that, and I would like to think it shows in the next chapter. The dialogue is actually more realistic than you think. In situations where people are by themselves, and know they will be by themselves for long periods of time, they will start talking to themselves just to hear a voice. It also helps to focus one's concentration on something, like the use of "I got everything I could find here, so time to move." That, in the character's mind, is a mental check, like saying "Did I get everything? Is there something important that I forgot?" It helps a lot of people when they say those kinds of things out loud. Also, the last bullet thing. That happened to me once when I was playing L4D or L4D2 when the rest of my team was down. My friends and I had a good laugh when that happened (last bullet with my rifle, for clarification). Just thought it would add a little more intensity and desperation to the scene. Also, this has got to be the longest response to any review I have ever gotten… Wow…

Kody: Glad you liked it. Here's the next chapter for your review.

Chapter Six: Operation: Gauntlet

I looked back at the radio. I wished it was small enough that I could take it with me. I quickly shook my head and looked out a nearby window. The morning light was washing through the area in front of me. The only thing that I noticed were several common infected out there. I opened the window, and shouldered my sniper rifle. I quickly sited in on the closest infected's head, and squeezed the trigger. The rifle kicked and I switched targets before I could confirm the kill. Another trigger squeeze and another target got sited. I mechanically gunned down every zombie I could see from the safe house. After five clips of ammo, which I quickly replenished from the ammo pile, I had cleared the immediate area. Suddenly I was reminded of a picture I had seen a while back. I couldn't help but laugh at it.

"Remember, it takes forty-three muscles to frown, seventeen to smile, but only three for a proper trigger squeeze," I whispered, with a large grin. I swapped out the sniper for my M16, and looked out the door. Immediately outside the door was a stairway. "Aww great… Hell's waiting room…" I groaned. With my weapon shouldered, I opened the door and slowly worked my way down the stairway. I hesitate for a moment before I swap the M16 for the M1014 shotgun. I check the chamber out of habit. After seeing the shell in the chamber, I shoulder the weapon and continue down the stairs.

I heard some shuffling coming from lower down the stairway. I then cursed myself for using the last of my frag grenades holding the extraction point while everyone else escaped. I adjusted where the shotgun was resting against my shoulder and continued forward. The stairway ended in a door. I slowly opened it. Inside were several common infected.

Without hesitation, I open up with the shotgun. Before long, the entire magazine was empty. I automatically reached into a pocket, grabbed several shells, and started slamming the shells into the shotgun's magazine. I quickly reloaded the weapon just as the first common infected reached me. Before it could grab me, I slammed the butt of the shotgun into its face out of instinct. I then shouldered the weapon and fired. The double-aught shot cut through the infected, scatter gore and body parts all over the place. Seven rounds later, and a pile of corpses lay before me. I walked into the room and was swapping the shotgun for the M16 when I was blindsided by a very large infected.

I was slammed into a wall, with both weapons flying from my hands. I was then picked up by a very large arm and slammed into the ground. I felt the scope from the sniper rifle shatter under the impact, and a popping sound from my back. I fumbled for my pistols. As I was brought back up and slammed into the ground repeatedly, I had a hard time grabbing my weapons. I eventually was able to grab them, and pointed them at the Charger currently on me. My breath by then had been beaten out of me, but I was able to pull the triggers on both of my pistols. I unloaded both clips from the pistols into the Charger. I was brought up and suddenly dropped back to the ground as the Charger fell backwards from the onslaught. My training had me reloading both weapons before my mind even realized what had happened. I quickly pushed myself to my feet and looked at the Charger, dead.

I did a quick check of the damage. All of my ribs felt bruised, but thankfully not cracked or broken, I could still move so neither my neck or spine was too badly damaged since my body armor protected me from the shatter glass of the sniper scope but my back felt really tight. Besides the full-body bruises I was going to get later, I was none too worse for wear. I holstered both pistols. I quickly unslung the sniper rifle and checked the scope.

"Perfect," I groaned as I looked at the shattered scope, "So much for being able to 'reach out and touch someone…'" The rifle was useless to me now, just weighting me down for nothing. I dropped the rifle, but kept the ammo. I walked over to the M16 and checked its condition. Besides a few new scratches, it was a-okay. I shouldered the rifle in the low-ready, and looked around for another door. There was a door was on the far side. I slowly moved forward, but my back decided to pay me back for the abuse it suffered. I tried to push the pain from my mind, but it was too much. My movement was hampered, but I forced myself through the pain. I made it to the door, and just kicked the door open. The room beyond was an empty hallway, but the first thing I noticed was a first aid sign.

"Need some Ranger candy," I muttered as I followed the sign and found a first aid kit. The first thing I did was grab some painkiller, grab a water bottle from my rucksack, and swallow a few of the small pills with a gulp of water. It would take a bit for the painkiller to work, but I needed to move.

I went back to the hallway and continued down the hallway, M16 at the ready. I peeked around a corner when I got bum-rushed by a hoard of infected. I backpedaled as I put rounds down range, into the swarming mass of bodies. The hallway was packed enough that a blind man could have hit fifteen out of ten times.

I emptied the magazine and quickly slapped in a new one. By that time, I had backpedaled into the room with the dead Charger. When my back was pressed against the wall, I heard a horrifying click.

"Jam! Jam! Jam!" I yelled out of instinct, as I dropped the rifle and unslung the shotgun. I couldn't bring it up to my shoulder in time, so I swung out with the butt stock. I heard a crank as I nailed one infected person under the jaw with the weapon. The head snapped up, and the person dropped to the floor.

I then braced the gun in my hands and shoved against the tide of infected; pushing enough of them back, that I was able to snap the shotgun up and fire the weapon. I emptied the magazine quickly, and was able to provide myself and escape route. I then ran down the path created by the shotgun, as I slung the weapon. I then pulled out the Mac 10 and housed down the hoard following me. I emptied the magazine and quickly slammed in a new one.

As the chamber clicked open on the now empty magazine, the last of the hoard had dropped. I had several new scratches from the hoard, and both my fists and the Mac 10 were covered in blood. I tensed up for a few seconds before I remembered that I was immune to the virus that did this to people. I let out a shuddering sigh as I felt the adrenaline rush end. I could barely stand, but focused on getting out of this place. 'I need a _**long**_ vacation after this is all finished,' I thought as I reloaded the Mac 10 and then placed it in its "holster." I then walked through the mass of bodies and picked up the M16 from where I dropped it. I cleared the jam, which just so happened to be the last round in the clip. I picked up the round and inspected it quickly. Perfectly usable. I slide the round into the chamber or the rifle, and then let the bolt forward. I then slapped in a new clip and slung the weapon.

I then reloaded the shotgun and moved back through the door, I had just retreated through. I walked through the empty hallway. 'Did I take you every infected in the building?' I thought for a moment. I glanced back at the mounds of dead zombies back in that room. 'Yeah, I think I did. Or at least, for this floor,' I thought as I continued on. The painkillers I took finally started to kick in, and my back felt a lot better. I kept the shotgun shouldered and continued to move down the hall. I ended up running into a door that was sealed shut, for whatever reason. I looked around and saw a fire escape out of the lone window in the hallway. I tried to open the window but the window was jammed.

I take the shogun and slammed the butt stock into the window itself. The window cracked, but held. I did it again, and more cracks appeared. Two more hits and the glass had so many cracks in it, you couldn't even see out of it. I last hit, and the glass shattered. Almost the whole plane of glass fell onto the fire escape. I used the shotgun to break a few leftover pieces of glass to make sure I didn't cut myself on them as I went through the window, and then climbed out.

I quickly scanned around and noticed that I was almost to the edge of the town. I slung my shotgun and take out the M16. From my vantage point, I saw several common infected so I shouldered my weapon, and let loose. A short engagement and half a magazine later, I was down on the street running for the edge of town. I reloaded my weapon as I ran, and stopped when a roar broke the silence.

When I heard the roar, I turned around. The Tank that had been following me through the remains of the city was standing there. "I got my weapons this time, you overgrown jock!" I yelled as I aimed my M16 at its head. It charged toward me as I opened fire. The Tank's charge made my rounds impact lower than where I aimed. The rounds only seemed to tick it off as it roared in response. I emptied the magazine just as the beast reached the halfway point between us. I slammed in another magazine and continued spraying the Tank down. I emptied the second magazine, which seemed to have the same effect as the first, and quickly ducked as the giant muscle-bound beast threw a haymaker at me.

The punch sailed right past my head, which caused the beast to become slightly unbalanced. My instincts kicked in, and I quickly hit the beast where the kidneys would be located with my fist. When my punch landed, I heard and felt my hand crack from the impact with rock-solid muscle. 'Bad idea,' I thought with a wince. I was then backhanded by the beast, and thrown a good twenty feet away.

The M16 was thrown from my hands by the impact, and it landed at least thirty feet away from me. I pulled out the Mac 10, which surprisingly stayed in my pocket, and hosed the Tank down. Again, the only thing the weapon did was anger it further. The 9mm rounds barely did any damage. I slammed in a new clip just as the Tank charged at me again, but this time when he got close enough, I threw myself under the bunch and hosed down its back.

I was able to empty the rest of the magazine and slam in a new one before the beast could react. I dove away from the beast as it tried to backhand me again. It missed and I continued to hose it down with the 9mm weapon. I emptied another magazine as I backed up and dodged its vicious punches. My luck ran out however as one punch caught me and I was thrown another twenty feet.

'At the rate I'm going, I'm going to have more flight time than some fly-boys in the USAF,' I thought sarcastically as I pushed myself back onto my feet. I managed to keep a hold of my weapon this time. I continued to spray the Tank down with bullets as I backed up. Again, my luck ran out as I was hit with a punch, but this time I was thrown into a building.

I smashed through the door and landed in the room. I painfully pushed myself to my feet. I pointed the machine pistol at the door and opened up on the Tank again. The Tank slammed into the building and almost broke through. I emptied two magazines before the beast slammed into the building again. The structure groaned loudly in protest of the abuse. I was partly worried that the frame of the building wouldn't hold against the Tank's next attack, so I quickly looked for a way out. The only way out was a window right next to the door, and the Tank was already charging at the doorway. I fire a quick five round burst at the glass, which shatters completely. I then dive through the now open window as the Tank slams through the doorway and the building collapses on the beast.

"Haha, eat that!" I yelled at the unmoving pile of rubble, more out of relief than anything feeling of victory. I quickly pocket the Mac 10 and run over tom my M16. I pick it up and check it for damage. I didn't find anything new, so I slung the weapon and took out the Mac 10 again. I check the load, and continue down the road. It was starting to get dark by now and I didn't feel like traveling by night, at least for now. I knew I was going to be extremely sore the next day, but that's just another day at the office for me.

I continued down the street I had been walking before, but this time I was limping. As I approached the limits of the city proper, I noticed a safe house symbol with an arrow pointing to the right. I was about to follow its directions when I heard a roar of a PO'd Tank coming from behind me. I look and the Tank that I thought was dead was standing there, a fresh jagged cut ran from the upper right portion of its face and ended on the right side of its jaw. It roared again and started to charge at me. I bolted toward the safe house as I thought, 'What does it take to kill this thing?'

I had a good head start on the Tank, but it was closing fast. In the distance, I saw the safe house symbol on a door with an arrow pointing up. I pushed myself to run as fast as I could, but I could only pray that the Tank didn't catch me. I didn't even want to think about what would happen if it did. I heard another roar from behind me, and it sounded a lot closer. I risked a glance behind me, and the Tank had closed the gap significantly. Before it had been at one to one-fifty meters away, not it was within thirty.

I felt a fresh wave of adrenaline hit me and I pushed myself harder. My lungs burned for the oxygen that it couldn't get in fast enough; my back and legs burned from the abuse I've been putting them through. I tried to run faster, but I couldn't. I was neck deep, and it was rising.

I suddenly saw a flash of light, followed almost instantly by a gunshot come from the building in front of me. I then heard the Tank roar in anger. I was within ten meters of the building when I glanced behind me. Another gunshot and I saw a new bullet hole appear in the Tank, followed by it roaring. I looked back at the door and rammed my shoulder into it. The door flew open and I ran inside the room.

"Get upstairs!" I heard a voice yell as another gunshot went off. The Tank started to pound on the building. I decided to not go up right away. I aimed my Mac 10 at the Tank and let loose. Again, the nine-millimeter rounds did nothing, but annoy the beast; however, the rifle that the other person was using did a lot more damage.

The Mac 10 clicked on empty, and I quickly looked for another magazine. I felt my heart skip a beat when I came up empty. I dropped the weapon and switched to my M16. I fired as fast as I could, and all but dumped the magazine into the Tank. The five-five-six rounds did a lot more damage than the nine-millimeter. The Tank obviously was smart enough to decide that we weren't worth the trouble and ran off. I had a gut feeling that this wasn't the last I had seen of the beast.

I leaned against the wall behind me, and slowly slid down it. I let out a sigh of relief. I leaned my head against the wall, and passed out from exhaustion.


End file.
